Last gasp for net neutrality

The Democrat is one of the co-sponsors of the Congressional Review Act, a resolution lawmakers say would restore the 2015 rules that protected net neutrality.

The long-existing policy — which prohibits internet providers from making some areas of the web more accessible than others, and providing premium access among other services — was eliminated by the FCC last month in a vote that went down partisan lines.

“The FCCjust voted to give the biggest corporations much more control over what people see on the internet,” Gillibrand said, in a release. “This was a shameful decision, and now that it has gone through, the biggest service providers could be able to decide which sites are fast and which sites are slow with little oversight.

“This is an attack on free speech, it’s a disturbing example of the corrupt relationship between corporations and the government.”

The act not only would affect the FCC, but other federal agencies as well.

It would give Congress the ability to overturn regulatory actions by those agencies with a simple majority vote.

Although Pennsylvania congressman Mike Doyle is introducing a House version of the bill, the chances of it getting anywhere are nil.

The act is supported solely by Democrats — and Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent — who are the minority party in both the House and the Senate.

Community Board 8 is looking for you

If you’re looking for a way to make your vote count, the Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr., wants you to consider applying to serve on Community Board 8.

“Participation on local community boards can provide Bronx residents with a forum to share with their community their expertise and talents,” Diaz said, in a release. “It is important that community residents participate in the decisions that are building and revitalizing our boroughs, and our community boards are a great place to do so.”

Applications are available online at BronxBoroPres.nyc.gov, or at any community board office, including CB8’s, located at 5676 Riverdale Ave., Suite 100.

Deadline to apply is Feb. 9.

Engel wins Pinnacle Award

The Family Unification and Resettlement Initiative has awarded U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel its Pinnacle Award for his work in refreshing the strategy the United States takes when it comes to helping deported Caribbean nationals improve their own lives.

Engel was the author of the U.S.-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act, which Barack Obama signed into law in December 2016.

“Working with deportees is not an easy task,” Engel said, in a release. “There is an unfair stigma attached to these individuals, a stigma that has only worsened during President Trump’s tenure in the White House.”

Have a look up the narrow pathway connecting Arlington Avenue and Kappock Street in Spuyten Duyvil and one might see a steep trail of hideous, uneven pavement snaking between warped side rails bent out of shape. It’s like something out of a Gothic fairy tale.